2027: Tinubu’s Defeat Will Worsen Poverty In North – APC Chairman
The North risks a fresh rise in poverty and a reversal of ongoing development projects if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is denied a second term in the 2027 general elections, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has warned. Yilwatda said several interventions of the Tinubu administration, including road construction, student […]
If President Bola Ahmed Tinubu fails to secure a second term in the 2027 general elections, the North faces the risk of heightened poverty and setbacks in ongoing development initiatives, warned the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda. Speaking in Abuja, Yilwatda highlighted several interventions under the Tinubu administration that have particularly benefited northern states, including road construction projects, student loan programs, compressed natural gas (CNG) initiatives, and fertiliser-related measures.
He cautioned that the region could not tolerate a return to the economic conditions that prevailed prior to Tinubu's administration, particularly the inability of state governments to fulfill salary and pension obligations.
Yilwatda vehemently opposed the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar's proposal to restore fuel subsidy. He questioned the funding mechanism for such a policy without impacting existing government programs. Yilwatda emphasized that the removal of subsidy had freed up resources for the federal government to pursue various projects and interventions nationwide, including those aimed at the North.
He questioned how the restoration of subsidy would be achieved without compromising infrastructure spending, particularly road construction, and programmes aimed at reducing transportation costs and improving energy access.
The APC chairman also noted that the region's agricultural production relies heavily on the gas and fertiliser interventions championed by the federal government. He reiterated the necessity of continued CNG initiatives, which he believes have alleviated the transportation burden for vulnerable Nigerians. Yilwatda queried the discontinuation of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), a program that significantly benefits northern students.
He stressed that abandoning this loan program would have dire consequences for students who cannot afford their tuition fees.
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